What happened
American Express Canada is removing Etihad Guest as a direct transfer partner for Membership Rewards points effective June 20, 2026. This change impacts Canadian cardholders of the Cobalt Card, Gold Rewards Card, Platinum Card, Business Platinum Card, and Business Gold Rewards Card. The last day to initiate a transfer at the existing 1,000:750 ratio is June 19, 2026. After this date, the option will disappear from the transfer page entirely. This timeline is earlier than the US program's cutoff of June 30, 2026, and the Canadian ratio (4:3) is less favorable than the US 1:1 ratio. While Etihad Guest was never a primary partner for Canadians due to the premium ratio, it offered value for booking short-haul Air Canada or American Airlines flights via Etihad's distance-based chart. For future redemptions, cardholders can still reach Etihad Guest indirectly through Aeroplan or Flying Blue (both 1:1 transfers) or via Marriott Bonvoy (1:1.2 MR to Marriott, then 3:1 to Etihad with bonus miles), though the latter path is mathematically inefficient